It’s not so much laziness but weariness. It’s a long haul across this country, and I have to say that I think the most interesting parts, at least in terms of scenery, are behind us. We left Oklahoma City on Tuesday morning and made it a whole hundred miles up the highway to Tulsa. We originally planned to have made it into Missouri, but figured we were actually making some pretty good time and decided to stay and chill in Tulsa. We rode around the city for a bit, which is actually a pretty nice place, and went for some excellent Mexican food…then it was basically hanging out in the hotel room binge-watching ink masters – we were feeling pretty mellow that day 🙂
After Tulsa, we finally made it into Missouri yesterday, stopping in this small town called Granby for lunch. Granby’s a pretty small, religious and definitely conservative place – we noticed several people either saying grace or crossing themselves before eating in the diner we were at…also saw a lot of signs that said “A vote for Hillary is an end to democracy”…not sure if the people who put that gem together actually understand what democracy is, but yeah, that’s the south 🙂
Speaking of the South…I never would have really considered Missouri part of the south, but apparently it was, and this town Granby, which was a lead mining town, served as an ammunition pickup point for both the south and the north during the civil war…interesting stuff anyway.
After Granby, we headed into Springfield, MO, which is notable for two reasons, which I will get to in a second – first, I have to tell you that I kinda freaked Sandra out I think when I was pointing to some funky looking clouds along the road. Within about 2 miles the temperature dropped from 88 to 78, and it was a bit windy and rainy, and those clouds were looking pretty dangerous actually…twister country for sure.
Onto the notability of Springfield, Missouri: One – it is the birthplace of Bass Pro Shops (and still the headquarters). For anyone who’ve ever been to a Bass Pro store, you know they are generally massive…well, the one in Springfield is at least 4 times the size of the ones I’ve ever seen…it was kinda unreal, actually…
Anyway, right across the street is the second important part of Springfield, and that’s the Buckingham smokehouse and grill. We hadn’t gone for any BBQ on this trip, and I am sorta glad we waited, because this was worth the trip. The Brisket was awesome, but we got talking to the chef, who was originally from Memphis (so he should know his BBQ), and he asked us why we didn’t get the “Burnt ends”…We told him he’d never had them before, and he was in some sort of souther shock – he went back to the kitchen and brought some back, making a comment of disbelief to his co-worker 🙂
What he brought back for us to sample was beyond awesome…beef that was melt-in-your-mouth, salty, smokey, with a slight nice bit of bark as well…pure BBQ heaven! I included a picture that’s not mine below, so you can drool too…on Buckingham’s menu, the description of Burnt ends is “One of BBQ’s great experiments. So good you’ll slap your neighbour!” Haha…
Anyway, if you’re ever within 2 or 3 hundred miles of Springfield, make the detour to get there and save up some space for the goodness that is Buckinghams!
So this morning, we got back in the saddle and have made out way to St. Louis. I’ll try to post more tomorrow.
Peace out,
Byron
Looking forward to a ‘Burnt Ends’ BBQ next summer 🙂